Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Thanksgiving/Turkey

Book Ideas:Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Pilkey"School children on a field trip to Mack Nugget's farm save the lives of eight turkeys in this poem based on 'The Night Before Christmas'."

Run, Turkey Run! by Diane Mayr"With Thanksgiving only one day away, can Turkey find a place to hide from the farmer who's looking for a plump bird for his family feast?Maybe he can hide with the pigs . . . or the ducks . . . or the horses . . .Uh-oh! Here comes the farmer!Run, Turkey, run!"

A Turkey for Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting"Mr. and Mrs. Moose invite all their animal friends for Thanksgiving dinner and the only one missing is Turkey. When they set out to find him, Turkey is quaking with fear because he doesn't realize that his hosts want him at their table, not on it."

Songs and Rhymes:

I'm A Little Turkey(tune of I'm a little Teapot)

I'm a little turkey; I like to play,I'm very hungry; I eat all day.When I see the hunter with his gun,Then I know it's time to run.

Turkey in the BarnyardTurkey in the barnyard, what does he say?Gobble, gobble, gobble all day.(flap your elbows like turkey wings)Turkey on the table, what do you say?Yummy, yummy, yummy all day.(rub your tummy in a circle)Turkey in my tummy, what do I say?I ate too much turkey on Thanksgiving Day!(hold your hand on your belly and make a pained face)

Run Fast Little TurkeyThe brave little PilgrimWent out in the woodLooking for a mealThat would taste really good.First she/he picked cranberriesOut in the bog.Then she saw a turkeyHiding in a log.Run fast little turkey.Run fast as you may.Or you will come to dinnerOn Thanksgiving Day!

Have you ever seen a turkey?(Sing to the tune of "The more we get together")Have you ever seen a turkey, a turkey, a turkey?Have you ever seen a turkey with feathers so bright?There's red ones and brown ones, and yellow ones and orange onesHave you ever seen a turkey with feathers so bright?

Fat Turkey's Song(to the tune of "The more we get together")Oh, gobble, gobble, gobble,Fat turkeys, fat turkeys.Oh, gobble, gobble, gobble,Fat turkeys are we.We walk very proudly and gobble so loudly.Oh, gobble, gobble, gobble.Fat turkeys are we.

Activity Ideas:

Idea #1: "Where is Mr. Turkey?" Game

Read one of the Turkey books and then play the "Where is Mr. Turkey Game?" (similar to the game hot and cold). Have child leave the room and then hide the turkey (the turkey can be a small printout on paper, or it could be a small stuffed animal turkey, or turkey figurine etc...--use whatever you have) When the child returns to the room, give clues by gobbling softly when he/she is far away from the turkey and gobbling loudly when close. Once the turkey is found, let your child take a turn hiding Mr. Turkey, while you leave the room.

Idea #2: "A Turkey for Thanksgiving" Comprehension Activity

Print off the animal images (see list and links below)

You may want to copy and paste the images into a word document to make them smaller, so you can fit four on a page. Read "A Turkey For Thanksgiving" by Eve Bunting. Lay the animal pictures on the floor or table and have your child pick out the animals that were at the Thanksgiving feast in the story. Refer back to the pages in the book if you need to.

Read a book together and then make a yummy turkey snack, using an apple for the body, 8 toothpicks (1 for the neck and 4 for the feathers, and 3 for the base so the apple is balanced), 1 Large Marshmallow for the head, a candy corn for the beak and two small candies or chocolate chips, or raisins for the eyes. You'll also need some finger food for the feathers. Here are some ideas: grapes, cheese cubes, banana slices, cheerios, fruit loops, raisins, mini Marshmallows or any other finger food that can be stacked or pierced through a toothpick easily. You can also use gumdrops if you want a candy version.

Set out the finger food items in small bowls or on a plate, ready to go, before hand. It is safer to have the toothpicks already poked into the apple, ready to decorate, before calling your child over to the table. ***Make sure that you are extremely attentive during this activity so that no one gets hurt with the toothpicks. When putting the eyes and beak on, it helps to pinch out and remove a little piece of the large marshmallow, so the candy can be pushed into the marshmallow and stay in place.

Idea #4: Turkey Wobble

Read one of the books mentioned above and then put on some music of your choice and move like:

BIG turkeys

Little turkeys

Tired turkeys

Happy turkeys

Scared turkeys Etc.

Idea #5: Feather Fun

Read one of the book titles above and make your own turkey. I like this activity because even though it is a little more product oriented, the kids can still show their own creativity decorating the feathers.Cut out six feathers, each of a different color paper.For the body, head, and feet you will need some brown, yellow, and red construction paper, and some googly eyes. Using brown paper, cut out a pear shaped head and a large circle for the body (I traced a pot lid). Cut out a triangle beak and some bird feet out of the yellow paper, and a turkey wattle out of the red. Do all of this in advance. Set out a variety of art supplies (crayons, markers, glue, glitter, sequins, buttons, scrapes of paper, tissue paper, ribbon, paint, scissors).

Encourage your child to make each feather unique and different from the others. I had my kids choose one feather at a time to work on. With younger children you will have to help guide them through each feather and the choices they have for materials to use. If using glitter, set the feather on top of a paper plate to catch the stray glitter. After decorating all five feathers, set aside to dry.Have your child assemble their turkey body, gluing the head, legs, beak, wattle, and eyes.

When feathers are dry(or mostly dry), tape feathers on the back of the turkey body.

Idea #6: Turkey Sponge Painting

Read one of the turkey stories and then have fun making mini turkeys. This activity is also a little more product oriented. The focus should be on the process of stamping and painting with a sponge. If your child wants to help assemble the turkey later, great. Here are the supplies you'll need: 1 large craft stick, 1 popsicle stick cut in half, 1 sponge, 1 paper plate cut in half, Tempera Paint (orange, red, yellow, green, and brown), googly eyes, tiny scrapes of felt or colored paper (colors:red, yellow, and black), glue and scissors.

Paint the craft stick and popsicle stick in advance so your child can just assemble later.

Cut out a tiny hat, beak, and wattle out of your felt or colored paper.Cut a sponge into small pieces,so they are easier to hold and so you can have one for each color paint.

Using green, brown, orange, and red paint, let your child dip the sponge pieces into the paint and stamp their paper plate.

Once they have covered the paper plate with a neat sponge texture of colors, set aside to let dry.

Once dry, cut the edge of the plate to resemble a fan of feathers.

Tape the popsicle stick legs to the back of the feathers. Attach the turkey face, hat and stick body to the paper plate feathers using glue.

4 comments:

Amy, I don't know if you remember me, we went to BYUH and sang in choir together - I ran into your blog looking for ideas for my kids and it is SO awesome! Thank you SO much for sharing all these great ideas - I have been wanting something like this for a long time! You're doing aweome job, thanks for all your work! ~Sarah (Stout) Buchanan

April Book List

Below is list of books that will be highlighted in upcoming posts. You may want to request the titles now from your library so that you are ready with the book once the project is posted. I've listed more books than you'll need in case some of the book titles are not available at your local library.

Easter/Spring-Five little Chicks by Nancy TafuriThe Surprise Visitor by Juli KangasMinerva Louise and the Colorful Eggs by Janet StoekeQueen of Easter by Mary EngelbreitMax's Chocolate Chicken by Rosemary WellsArthur's Jelly Beans by Marc BrownThe Easter Egg Farm by Mary Jane AuchThe Best Easter Hunt Ever by John SpeirsThe Country Bunny by Du Bose HeywardThe Grumpy Easter Bunny by Justine KormanLast One in is a Rotten Egg! by Diane deGroatHe is Risen by Elizabeth Winthrop

About Me

I am former Early Childhood Educator and now stay at home mom. I wanted to start this blog to help share ideas to other young moms as well as to help motivate me to do fun activities with my own children. Interactive Literature activities are my favorite preschool activities because it helps children learn to love books. What this means is to choose a book and plan an activity that relates to the book, to extend their learning. Normally I will post a specific book and an activity to go with it. During holiday times there will be lots of book ideas and activities to choose from. Most often the activities will be art projects, but not always. Remember that with any early childhood activity, the emphasis should be about the process of doing the activity and not about the outcomes. As hard as it might be, try to resist fixing and doing things for them and let them create on their own. The photos are just visual examples and not meant to be "cookie cutter" copies.